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Activists protest Procter and Gamble’s link to deforestation

by Cassady Craighill

March 4, 2014

Greenpeace activists protest at Procter & Gamble’s global headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio, March 4, 2014, calling attention the company's link to tropical deforestation. Greenpeace International conducted a year-long investigation, including field trips in Indonesia, which exposed links between destructive palm oil plantations and the P&G supply chain. Photo by Greenpeace

©Greenpeace

Cincinnati, March 4th 2014 – Greenpeace activists protested Procter & Gambles link to tropical deforestation at the company’s global headquarters today, hanging from a zipline between the buildings two iconic towers.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

10:10 AM EST Granted bond

9:00 EST News Coverage

3:10 EST People respond

2:45: Coming down

2:30: View from the top 2:20 EST: Things looking up

Local news station WCPO features protest on their homepage

Local news station WCPO features protest on their homepage

2:00 EST Local buzz

1:45 EST Down to the wire

1:30 EST: LOCAL NEWS COVERAGE

  • Cincinnati Business Journal
  • Cincinnati.com
  • Dayton Daily News

    • ADD YOUR VOICE TO FOREST PROTECTION

    1:05 EST Wiping out forest habitat

    1:03 EST

    PROTECT WILDLIFE HABITAT

    1:00 EST: Banner deployed

    12:30 EST: Activists on zipline

    The nine activists, one of whom dressed in a tiger costume while hanging from the zipline, also unfurled two 50 ft. banners from the building with the message Head & Shoulders, Stop Putting Tiger Survival on the Line and Head & Shoulders, Wipes out Dandruff & Rainforests.

    P&G is buying palm oil linked to rainforest destruction, to make everyday products like Head & Shoulders and Oil of Olay, said Joao Talocchi, Greenpeace Palm Oil Campaigner. Rainforest destruction is endangering species like the Sumatran tiger and orangutan. We should be able to wash away dandruff without wiping out tigers.

    Indonesia’s forests are disappearing at a rate of more than nine Olympic swimming pools each minute, with palm oil being the biggest driver of that deforestation. Forest destruction in the region is pushing the Sumatran tiger and orangutan to extinction. To highlight this, Greenpeace also launched a video today, spoofing P&Gs Thank you, Mom commercials.

    P&G prides itself on being innovative. Yet companies like LOreal, Nestle and Unilever have already made strong commitments to prevent dirty palm oil getting into their products, leaving P&G trailing behind, said Talocchi.

    Greenpeace International conducted a year-long investigation, including field trips in Indonesia, which exposed links between controversial palm oil plantations and the P&G supply chain. As recently as January 2014, tropical rainforest in endangered orangutan habitat, was actively being cleared by a P&G supplier, Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK). Both P&G and KLK are members of the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), which has principles prohibiting this practice. To prevent this and further deforestation scandals, Greenpeace urges P&G to adopt a robust no-deforestation policy for all its palm oil purchases.

    TELL P&G TO CUT TIES WITH DEFORESTATION

    Cassady Craighill

    By Cassady Craighill

    Cassady is a media officer for Greenpeace USA based on the East Coast. She covers climate change and energy, particularly how both issues relate to the Trump administration.

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